CP Rail strike ends as company, employees agree to resume discussions

Canadian Pacific Railway workers walk the picket line while on strike at the Cote Saint-Luc railyard in Montreal on Monday, Feb. 16, 2015. (Ryan Remiorz / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

OTTAWA - Federal Labour Minister Kellie Leitch says the Canadian Pacific Railway (TSX:CP) strike is over, with both sides agreeing to resume discussions.

News of the deal comes with the government poised to introduce back-to-work legislation and the Commons debating a speedy process to pass it.

In a sudden, surprise news conference, Leitch welcomed the sudden willingness by both sides to resume talks -- a development that had seemed impossible just hours earlier.

The strike by 3,300 locomotive engineers and other CP train workers began Sunday.

Leitch has said the strike could cost the economy more than $200 million in lost GDP every week.